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Mandi wasn't participating in the League Conference for the first time; he had over a year and a half of travel experience. He had originally come to the Indigo Plateau Conference hoping to secure a top three finish. Otherwise, with his current experience, he wouldn't even bother with such a conference.
However, a super dark horse emerged from this conference he thought little of!
Ash's appearance made all the contestants feel as if they were treading on thin ice. Anyone who encountered Ash could pretty much guarantee their progression would stop at their current ranking. Even the most confident contestants absolutely did not want to face Ash.
Even if they did manage to defeat Ash, they would definitely expose all their trump cards, Pokémon species, and attributes. When they then faced other equally strong opponents, they would be at a complete disadvantage.
Therefore, in the early stages of this competition, everyone, whether powerful Trainers or weaker Trainers, absolutely did not want to encounter Ash. There was absolutely no benefit in facing Ash.
And Mandi was the first unlucky one.
"Me, fighting Ash? Seriously? What kind of joke is this! I might as well just surrender!"
He said that, but Mandi naturally couldn't choose to surrender. Even if there was only a tiny possibility, he had to try!
That was Dragon Island! Any normal Trainer would want to go there, to catch Pokémon!
After all, Dragon Island not only had only Dragon Pokémon (whether they were Dragon-type or not was unknown), but their talents were also exceptionally high. Who wouldn't want to go there and catch a pseudo-legendary Pokémon?
Besides the Kanto pseudo-legendary Pokémon, Dragon Island also had pseudo-legendary Pokémon from other regions, though they were rarer compared to the Kanto ones. In short, for Dragon Island, he would fight!
Ash saw his opponent and looked around, spotting Mandi's grim face. He then gave Mandi a friendly smile, a greeting for their first meeting.
However, when Mandi saw Ash's smile, he immediately interpreted it as a provocation. He instantly felt terrible. "So what if I run into you? You're provoking me too? Do you really think you're invincible?!"
"So what if you defeated a Superior Elite? So what if you're on par with Elite Four Lorelei? Is that so impressive?"
...It was indeed quite impressive, but that wasn't a reason for this guy to provoke him!
He was a seasoned Trainer after all, and he even had Superior-level Pokémon at his disposal. What if he could cause Ash to stumble?
If he hadn't met Ash, with his strength, making it into the top sixteen of the Indigo Plateau Conference wouldn't have been a problem.
But there was no helping it; the Indigo Plateau Conference's matching mechanism was simply too excellent, pairing him with such an incredible individual right from the start!
Now, Mandi could only brace himself and fight this battle!
...At two in the afternoon, the competition began. The audience seats for this match were basically full. The battle between Ash and Mandi was truly a highly anticipated event!
As for the reason, it naturally went without saying—everyone was there for Ash. Everyone was looking forward to seeing what kind of Pokémon Ash would use in his first battle: was it that Charizard, or that special Pikachu, or perhaps the Bulbasaur that had easily defeated an Elite's ace.
Then, under countless gazes, Ash released his first Pokémon—Kingler!
The first arena was a Water Field, so using Kingler was reasonable. This was Kingler's first battle appearance. As a Krabby, it hadn't fought a single official battle. It had certainly sparred, but only with its own Pokémon.
Now, having evolved into Kingler, it officially appeared under everyone's gaze. This was its first official battle in its life. Kingler was still a bit nervous, but for Ash, it quickly calmed its emotions and focused its gaze on its opponent.
Mandi took a deep breath, then threw out his Pokémon. A Pokémon with many heads and many large green leaves on top appeared. This was a Psychic and Grass-type Pokémon—Exeggutor.
"On the Water Field, Trainer Ash, as expected, sent out a Water-type Pokémon!"
"And Trainer Mandi, going against the grain, anticipating his opponent would use a Water-type Pokémon, brought out the countering Grass-type Exeggutor!"
"It's clear that Trainer Mandi has put a lot of preparation into this battle! We wonder how Trainer Ash will respond to the Grass-type Exeggutor?"
Ordinarily, on a Water Field, Water-type Pokémon are usually used because with only a few floating platforms on the water, many Pokémon are not suitable for movement, and their flexibility is too poor.
And Mandi aimed at this point, specifically bringing out the Grass and Psychic-type Exeggutor!
Regardless of strength, his more than a year of travel experience wasn't for nothing!
The host on the field also had some skill, immediately guessing Mandi's purpose for bringing Exeggutor.
Although Exeggutor was not a Water-type Pokémon and would be difficult to move on this Water Field, Exeggutor also had Psychic-type moves. If used properly, this field could also be transformed into Exeggutor's weapon!
"Exeggutor... a Grass-type Pokémon? It seems the opponent guessed we would use a Water-type Pokémon. But Kingler, type advantage and such, for us, it's just a small roadblock, right!"
"Kukukuku~" Kingler waved its pair of large pincers, showing full confidence.
After the initial nervousness, Kingler had already calmed its emotions. No matter what kind of opponent it faced, it only needed to perform well and show its style.
It turned out that this opponent was much weaker than it had imagined... Although the battle hadn't started yet, and it didn't have Ash's ability to Detect the opponent's level, the pressure the opponent gave it was too far off compared to Charizard, Pikachu, and the others... Krabby usually sparred with Blastoise, Venusaur, Charizard, and Pikachu, among other main Pokémon. Although it was beaten to a pulp every time, its increase in strength was also very pleasing!
So it had no complaints whatsoever.
And this time's opponent, in terms of Aura, couldn't even compare to a single hair on Ash's main Pokémon!
Because Ash's Pokémon not only completely surpassed the opponent's Exeggutor in level, but their various stats also completely crushed it.
The Aura they emitted was not on the same level.
Facing such an opponent, even Kingler, who hadn't won much, felt a surge of confidence from the bottom of its heart—this one was a win!
"Hmph! I knew you'd use a Water-type on a Water Field, so I specially prepared a Grass-type Pokémon to deal with you! This is reverse thinking!"
"And your Kingler shouldn't be your main Pokémon, right? Its Aura isn't on the same level as the Pokémon you sent out before. As expected, you'll choose to train in the first battle, so it's not impossible for me to defeat you!"
Mandi analyzed, seemingly even guessing the color of Ash's underwear. However, only Ash knew how much of his guess was correct.
"Exeggutor, Razor Leaf!"
With Mandi's roar, Exeggutor shook its head, and several sharp green blades shot out!
The high-speed spinning sharp blades seemed to cut through the air!
Ash was already feeling dizzy listening to the opponent's analysis. This shout of Razor Leaf immediately woke him up, and then he subconsciously yelled: "Krabby, Crabhammer."
"Kuk!"
Krabby's pincer was covered with a layer of water, then it swung it out violently!
A series of sharp screams came from the air!
The giant crab punch covered with water fiercely shattered all the incoming Razor Leaf!
The green leaves scattered weakly, like withered autumn leaves.
This time, Ash did not use Aura, but relied purely on Kingler's own strength, because the opponent was not a formidable opponent. Although Exeggutor had a type advantage over Kingler, its level was only the same as Kingler's, Superior-initial.
And Ash's Pokémon were all cultivated with the utmost care. Even at lower levels, they only advanced after their stats were trained to the limit. Over time, every single one of Ash's Pokémon possessed the strength to battle above their level, even without relying on Aura.
"Superior-initial... the same level as my Exeggutor. However, Exeggutor has a type advantage. As long as I command it properly, I can win this one. There's hope!"
With Kingler's move, Mandi also discerned Kingler's level: Superior-initial.
Although this level made Mandi feel somewhat tricky, it wasn't unmanageable. At least it offered much more hope than facing a Pokémon of Charizard's caliber.
However, the opponent using a Water-type move to forcibly break through a Grass-type move made Mandi feel a bit strange. Normally, if both sides were of similar levels, a Grass-type move against a Water-type move, even if it didn't completely dominate, shouldn't be so easily shattered by the opponent.
Perhaps there was something about this Kingler that he didn't know? Never mind, he would win this battle first!
"Exeggutor, Magical Leaf!"
Exeggutor shook its head, and several leaves imbued with a strange glow flew towards Kingler like sharp blades.
Magical Leaf is a tracking move, like Aura Sphere. Once used, the move locks onto the target, making it almost impossible to dodge.
"Kingler, dive into the water!" If it couldn't dodge, then just make the opponent's follow-up ineffective.
Kingler, hearing this, jumped directly into the water. The Magical Leaf followed Kingler into the water, but the water in the pool greatly softened the Magical Leaf's impact. Kingler, in the water, waved its large pincers, instantly shattering the Magical Leaf.
The Water Field provides a significant boost to Water-type Pokémon. As long as it's not a battle powerful enough to cut through water currents, the Water Field can mitigate most moves, which are then directly broken by the Pokémon in the water.
However, Mandi had actually already considered this point. He brought out Exeggutor not only because of its type advantage but also because of Exeggutor's Psychic-type attribute.
"Phew... trying to use the field advantage? Not a chance! Exeggutor, use Psychic!"
Mandi let out a light breath, then commanded Exeggutor to use Psychic, directly transforming the entire Water Field's water into a huge whirlpool!
Kingler was directly revealed in the whirlpool, but Kingler did not drift with the current. Instead, it used immense strength to hold its position within the whirlpool. The terrifying whirlpool had no effect on Kingler whatsoever.
"Kingler, Guillotine." (One-hit KO, Guillotine.)
Compared to the water currents created by Blastoise, this level of water current was no different from a shower for Kingler. So, even though the whirlpool looked fierce, Kingler could easily stand within it.
Now, the opponent used Psychic to control the water flow, originally intending to control Kingler as well. But now, it used the Psychic whirlpool, yet failed to control Kingler, which was a very fatal thing for Exeggutor itself!
It was very strenuous for a Superior-initial Pokémon to control so much water flow. If it failed to achieve its purpose, it would be a fatal recoil for itself, a standing target that any move the opponent used could hit.
So Ash directly chose a one-hit KO move—Guillotine!
Guillotine is a one-hit KO move. When used, its accuracy is extremely low, mainly manifested in slow movements, slow energy accumulation, etc... But as long as it hits the opponent, it can directly ignore the opponent's defense and cause a huge amount of damage to the opponent. This damage, as long as the level difference between the two sides is not too great, such as Elite-initial against Champion-initial, or Superior-initial against Elite-initial, can basically be an instant kill.
However, if the level difference is too great, even if the move can ignore defense, it cannot cause a one-hit KO to the opponent. Otherwise, in situations against a legendary Pokémon, one would only need to have a few Pokémon distract it in front, and then send out a few Pokémon to unleash one-hit KO moves, wouldn't that easily instantly kill and capture legendary Pokémon?
There are no such absurd rules in this world.
However, at the same level, a one-hit KO is truly a one-hit KO. In a one-on-one situation, there are few opportunities to create such an environment for a one-hit KO, but this environment had now appeared.
Even if the immobile Exeggutor retracted its Psychic, it would simply be too late to dodge.
After Kingler, at the bottom of the whirlpool, accumulated its strength, its crab legs suddenly exerted force, launching it out of the whirlpool. In less than two seconds, it leaped in front of Exeggutor, and a huge pincer directly clamped onto Exeggutor's neck.
Under Exeggutor's terrified gaze, Kingler's internal energy suddenly erupted, and with a forceful squeeze of its single pincer, a crisp snap echoed from Exeggutor's body.
"Crack!"
The next moment, Exeggutor's eyes closed, and it fell to the ground, losing its ability to battle.
The whirlpool on the field, losing the Psychic's agitation, returned to its original state. Kingler stood quietly beside Exeggutor, saying nothing, playing the part of a master.
All of this happened in a flash; the surrounding audience hadn't even reacted to what had happened, and the battle suddenly ended.